Kiln ring cutting machine



Feb. 10, 1942. w. M. MccoY 2,272,219

KILN RING CUTTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 13, 1940 immun FIGA 3 FIG. 2

, BY @mut/bw# ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 10, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE KILN RING CUTTING MACHINE Walter M. McCoy, Florence, Ala.l

Application February 13, 1940, Serial No. 318,779

1 Claim.

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as

amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 751) ation of the process is materially affected. This, l0

of course, necessitates periodic removal of the kiln ring and it is for this purpose that the apparatus of the present invention is particularly adapted.

The principal object of this invention is to re- 5 move solidified fused or sintered deposits from the refractory lining within va kiln or furnace.

Another object of this invention is to remove rings of deposited material from the interior wall of a rotary kiln.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a kiln ring cutting machine adapted to be used for considerable periods of time without removal for cooling.

A further object of this invention is to provide a kiln ring cutting machine adapted either for manual or automatic advancement of the cutting member.

Other objects of this invention include the prol vision for an apparatus which may rapidly and economically remove deposits from the interior of kilns or furnaces.

I have discovered an apparatus for removing deposits from the interior of kilns or furnaces which has in combination a bench, a power driven rotatable shaft adapted to be progressed along said bench and advanced into the interior of a kiln or furnace and to be Withdrawn from such kiln or furnace, a cutter head on said shaft adapted to engage with deposits on the Wall of the interior of said kiln or furnace and to successively separate small portions of such deposit, and means for cooling said rotatable shaft and/or said cutter head.

In the accompanying drawing which forms a part of the specification and wherein reference symbols refer to like parts wherever they occur,

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of the machine illustrating the application of the invention as applied to a rotary kiln;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and showing the hand feed arrangement;

Fig. 3 is an elevational front view of the power feed gear with a half section of the split nut 5 to the drive shaft u. The gear 51 has a split engaging collar removed to more clearly illustrate the mechanical arrangement. `f

Fig. 4 is a half sectional, half elevational side view of the power feed gear shown in Fig. 3.

In Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 a bench Ihas y a plurality of flanged rollers, represented by roller 3, journaled thereto. The plurality of rollers, represented by roller 3, serves as a bed for a housing 5 by limiting the rotative movement of said housing due to the engagement of longitudinal protrusions 'I and 3 of the housing with the plurality of rollers. Concentric with the housing 5 and extending longitudinally therethrough is a hollow drive shaft Il having a cutter I3 affixed to one end with the other end connected to a speed reducing gearing unit I5 driven by a motor I'I. A plurality of radially disposed apertures, represented by aperture I9, extend through the shaft II thereby rendering the interior of housing 5 and the interior of shaft Il communicative. A plurality of apertures, represented by aperture 2l, extend radially through the cutter and are communicative with the interior of shaft II which is suitably sealed at the end adjacent the reducer motor assembly. A iiuid inlet 23 in housing 5 supplies suitable uid cooling medium throughout said housing and to the cutter I3 through the aforementioned communicating passages. A valve 25 controls the flow of cooling fluid to the cutter I3. A discharge pipe 2l extending from the end of housing 5 adjacent the cutter I3 is connected to outlet 29. A uid seal between the drive shaft Il and the housing 5 is provided by a stuffing box 3I for the cutter end of the housing and a stuffing box 33 for the drive end. Flexible conduits (not shown) connected to inlet 23 and cutter 29, respectively, provide the means of ingress and egress of the fluid cooling medium. A hand wheel 35, secured to the bench I, operates a gear 3l which engages a gear 39 rigidly secured to a shaft 4I journaled in the bench. A pinion 43 rigidly secured to the shaft 4I engages a rack 45 which is integral with the housing 5. The hand wheel assembly provides a manual means for feeding the cutter I3 through kiln hood 4l, into rotary kiln 49 where the kiln ring 5I is cut, as the kiln rotates, to within a predetermined distance of the interior of the kiln as represented by 53. Power means for automatically feeding the cutter I3 into the rotary kiln I9 substantially as set forth for manual operation is provided by a non-rotatable lead screw 55 having a feed gear 51 rotatively secured thereto which engages a gear 53 rigidly secured gear by dove-tailed association with member 85 and member 81 which members are rigidly secured to gear 51 by a plurality oi' bolts, represented by bolt 89. A resilient member V'll and a resilient member 13 in conjunction with pins 'l5 and 11 respectively, insure positive disengagement of the split nuts 6i and 63 when the collar 19 is in the disengaging position as indicated by the position of lever 8 I. To engage the split nuts` 8| and 63 the lever 8|, having a suitable shifter yoke 83 attached thereto, is shifted to a position as indicated by Bla. The shifter yoke 83 engaging a pin, represented by pin l5, on each side of collar 19 actuates said collar to position 19a thereby closing the split nuts and maintaining them in threaded engagement with lead screw 55. A thrust bearing 81 is disposed between the split nuts 6| and 63 and an extending member 89 in'- tegral with the housing. A thrust bearing 9| is disposed between the feed gear 51 and an extending member 93 integral with the reducermotor assembly. The thrust bearings 81 and 9| may be of the ball or roller type and serve to alleviate wear due to power operated progression or retrogression of the cutter, respectively. To insure safety to the machine, the threads on lead screw 55 are terminated a suiiicient distance from each end of the bench stop to positively disengage the threaded elements during powered progression or retrogression of the cutter assembly. The cutter is normally positioned outside the kiln. When it is desired to remove the ring the cutter is fed forward into Vthe kiln by operation of the hand wheel or automatic feed. When the latter is utilized the motor and reducer can be adjusted so as to maintain the proper peripheral and axial speed of the cutter in accordance with best performance for cutting a specific type of ring. The cutter and appurtenant assembly may be cooled by circulating water through the aforementioned communicating passages or' may be cooled by spraying with sutlicient water to convert into vapor, thereby utilizing the latent heat of 'vaporization. The composition and characteristics of kiln rings vary to such an appreciable extent that it is impossible to supply a type cutter that will give best performance, under all conditions encountered. Accordingly, it is not intended that substitution of various types of cutters, bits, or hammers, will depart from the spirit of the description and the appended claim.

The kiln ring cutting machine described above is adapted for use either in a stationary furnace or in a rotary kiln. When used with a rotary kiln such kiln may be rotated as the position of the cutter head is slowly and uniformly pro- 2,272,219 nut Il and a split nut 83 slidably secured to saidv grossed. However, under somo. circumstances it is desirable to cause the progression of the kiln ring cutting machine with the kiln stationary, remove the cutting machine from the kiln, rotate the kiln slowly, again move the cutting machine progressively until another portion oi.' the ring is removed and repeat the operation until a substantial proportion of the ring-like deposit has been removed. Then, with the cutter head of the cutting machine removed from the kiln the latter may be rotated and the remaining portion of the ring deposit removed as the cutter head of the cutting machine is slowly and substantially uniformly progressed.

The rotatable shaft to which the cutter head is affixed may be cooled either internally or externally. In providing external cooling. water may be sprayed on the shaft but the shaft may also be covered by an enclosed concentric jacket, either stationary or rotatable with the shaft within which the cooling iiuid circulates. Pro vision may also be made to cool the cutter head by a restricted ilow of cooling fluid through the cutter head from the rotatable shaft to which it is affixed.

It will be seen, therefore, that this invention actually may be carried out Without departing from its spirit and scope, with only such limitations placed thereon as may be imposed by the prior art.

Iclaim:

An apparatus for removing kiln rings from rotary kilns having in combination, a bench; an elongated housing non-rotatably supported by the bench for axial movement; means electively usable to axially feed the housing along the bench; a driven member having a hollow zone communicating with the housing, said housing extending about the driven member for subst-antially its full length and said driven member extending from the housing and axially movable therewith; a cutter having apertures communicating with the interior of the driven member and connected thereto; a motor driving a speed reducer connected to the driven member; rotatable split nuts, normally open, associated with the housing and driven by connection to the driven member; a non-rotatable lead screw operatively secured to the bench and cooperating with the split nuts; means for closing said split nuts, thereby engaging the lead screw for progressive or retrogressive movement; means for circulating cooling water through the housing and interior of the driven member; and a valve in the driven member for controlling cooling water to the cutter.

WALTER M. McCOY. 

